Joseph houghton



@auch tutes gefilmt @fitta JOSEPH HOUGHTONQOF NEW YORK, AND GrEOBGrEl WINGFIELD, OF

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. I

Letters Patent No. 64,978, dated May 21, 1867.

DEVICE FOR `PERFORA'JING GIGARS.

Specification of certain improvements in a Device for Perforating Cigars, invented by- JSEP HOUGHTON, of the city, county, and State of New York, und GEORGE WINGFIELD, 0` Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, and State of N ew York.

Our invention relates to a certain new and useful device for perforating the wrapper of a cigar at or near its point or conical end which is introduced into the smokers mouth or cigar-holder, whereby the smoke of the cigar may be readily drawn through said wrapper into the mouth, and the biting c the end of the cigar avoided. In thus biting oi the end of the cigar, the part which is bitten oit` very generally crumbles or breaks up into small pieces, which have te be ejected froml the mouth, causing considerable trouble and annoyance,'and the wrapper is very apt to unwind from the end of the cigar, allowing the lling to become loose when the end is thus bitten or broken oi. By the use of this apparatus the cigar is prepared for smoking in an expeditious, neat, 'and e'ectualmanner, and it may be almost entirely consumed without losing its form, thus making it cheaper, aswell as more agreeable to the smoker, since'there is not so large a lportion ofthe cigar wasted, and' the pieces of wrapper and filling are not continually coming oil' in the mouth, las in the old way. Our improved-device we call a Cigar Perforator.

Our invention consists, rst, of a device consisting ofone or more needles or perforator's, set into a suitable head or holder, and enclosed in a tube or casing, the said needles passing through openings in the sides of `a conical piece at the end of said tube (into which -conical piece the en d of the cigar is placed) and perforating the cigar as hereinafter-set forth; second, the combination, with one ormore needles for perforating the cigar, of a suitable head or holder, and a tube in which'the said needles may be inserted, in orderto it the perforator to be carried in the pocket; third, the combination with the needles, head, and casing, arranged substantially as hereinafterl set forth, of a conical piece having a trumpet-shaped opening for receiving `the end of the cigar and preventing itsbreaking while being perforated, and fourth, the combination, with one or lmore needles, the

head, and the casing, of a spiral spring'for A'forcing and holding the needles within the said casing, except when in use, substantially as hereinafter set forth. In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a side elevation of our cigar perforator. i

Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same through its axis.

Figure 3 is a cross-section showing the parts to the leftv of the line :n x, 5g. 1.

Figure 4 is an end view showing the end" which is towards the right in fig. 1.

.A is the head; a a a the needles or perforators; B the casing, and C the conical or trumpet-shaped piece through which the needles a pass to pcrforate the end of the cigar, which is inserted for that purpose in the mouth of said piece C. b is a spiral spring, which surrounds the needles a, and is enclosed in the casing B. One end of said spring bears against the head A, and the other against the base of the conical piece C, which forms the front end or-cover of the casing B. c is a pin, which passes entirely through thc casing B, and is riveted at both ends to the'ring'd, which surrounds said casing. This ring iits loosely upon the casing B, and in operating'thc perforator it is moved forward, thrusting the needles through the holes in the conical part C and into the cigar. -Slots c in' the casing B, (seen in figs. 1 and 3,) for the pin c to work in, permit this move-.

ment of the parts. When the needles are thrust forward the spring b is compressed, and on being released it returns to its original position, .drawing the needles a back into the casing and keeping them there. The con` ical opening in the piece C is so formed as to t snugly around the point of the cigar and prevent its cracking or-bursting when the needles arethrust forward into it. The head A, needles a a, and casing B may be used alone, and the head formed into a handle capable of beingueadily grasped, and the points ofthe needles introduced into the casing when not in use, so that the perforator could readily be carried in the pocket; but we prefer to make it as shown.

Many4 modifications may be made in the form, design, and exterior finish of this cigar perforator without changing materially the construction or arrangement of the parts or the substantial nature of the invention, and we do not therefore confine ourselves to this exact form and arrangement; but we claim as our invent-ione- 1. The combination of the needles a, head A, casing B, spiral spring ring d, and. piece C, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination ofthe head A and needles a a, with the casing B. substantially as and for the purpose sot forth. l

3. The combination, with the head A and 4:needles a a, of the conical piece C, having a trumpet-shaped o1' conical opening in it, substantially as and for the'purpose specified.

4. The combination, with one or more needles a a, head A and casing B, of the spiral spring b, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. l

JOSEPH HOUGHTON, GEORGE WINGFIELD.

Witnesses:

H. JAMES WESTON, R. H. SATON. 

